Laws Information

法規資訊
Title: Vital Area Regulations
Am Date: 2002-04-17

Article Content

Chapter  1:Definition
Article 1
Tactical locations, military ports and airports which are of such importance that they must be retained or controlled for the purposes of national defense are called key points. Key points, together with their surrounding areas including any body of water, are defined as a vital area.

Article 2
The boundary of a vital area is defined by outlining the outermost points of any military base or installation as a baseline perimeter, and includes any surrounding area bounded by a specified range of distances.

Article 3
Unless otherwise specified, land areas and territorial waters within the vital area are classified as either Zone One or Zone Two. Airspace within vital areas is classified as either a No-Flight Zone or a Restricted Flight Zone. Depending on its geographic, transportational as well as local residential considerations, the specifications of the above regions are defined as follows:
Subparagraph 1 The area within a radius of approximately four to six hundred meters from the baseline perimeter is defined as Zone One.
Subparagraph 2 Within the range of approximately three to four thousand meters surrounding the area of Zone One is defined as Zone Two.
Subparagraph 3 The airspace within which no aircraft is permitted is defined as a No-Flight Zone. The airspace within which only permitted flights are allowed is defined as a Restricted Flight Zone. The rules and restrictions of the above two zones are to be specified by the Department of Defense, if necessary, accompanied by topographic maps illustrating a detailed outline of the stated area.
The above stated zones as they apply to military ports, strategically important ports, naval defense facilities, airports, air force defense facilities and any defense related areas are to be defined and posted by the Department of Defense.

Chapter  2:Prohibited Actions and Restrictions
Article 4
Prohibited actions and restrictions within Zone One are as follows:
Subparagraph 1 Activities such as surveying, photography, illustration, recorded and written descriptions or any other activities of this nature shall be construed as Military surveillance and is prohibited unless under special order from the Department of Defense.
Subparagraph 2 Activities such as fishing, hunting, aquatic plant collection, boat docking, soil removal and mining are prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the commander of the vital area.
Subparagraph 3 Construction and modification of structures, piles of material, graves, kilns, gardens, walls, ditches, ponds, wells and land elevation are prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the commander of the vital area.
Subparagraph 4 The majority of construction materials should be flammable. The height of the non-flammable section of any structure is to be limited to one meter and under.
Subparagraph 5 The height of any pile of non-flammable material is not to exceed two meters. The height limitation for flammable piles of material is four meters.
Subparagraph 6 The installation of any wireless short-wave radios and public broadcasting systems is prohibited. Pigeon and dog breeding, setting off firecrackers, fireworks or any other explosives is prohibited.
Subparagraph 7 No civilians are permitted to relocate into the stated region. The commander of the vital area has the authority to question and evaluate all current residents and passers-by. Any individual(s) suspected of eavesdropping on military communications and or activities will be detained investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Subparagraph 8 If deemed necessary, upon permission from the Department of Defense, the commander of a vital area will have the authority to force a partial or total evacuation of residents within a vital area.

Article 5
Prohibited actions and restrictions within Zone Two are listed as follows:
Subparagraph 1 activities such as surveying, photography, illustration, recorded and written description or any other activities of this nature shall be construed as Military surveillance and is prohibited unless under special order from the Department of Defense.
Subparagraph 2 Unless prior permission is received from the commander of the vital area, construction or remodeling of structures over six meters high using flammable materials is prohibited. The modification of an existing structure with an elevation exceeding one meter is prohibited. The height of any steel and concrete structure is not to exceed one meter.
Subparagraph 3 Unless permitted by the commander of the vital area, any non-flammable material piles is not to exceed three meters in height and the height of any flammable material pile is limited to six meters and under.

Article 6
Common prohibited actions and
Restrictions within both Zone One and Zone Two
are listed below:
Subparagraph 1 Unless prior permission is received from the commander of the vital area, no military personnel or police personnel or civilians are permitted to enter any part of Zone One and specifically designated areas in Zone Two such as mountainous territory and any permanent military post.
Subparagraph 2 Individuals with a permit to enter specifically designated areas, are prohibited from carrying cameras, weapons, observation equipment, and hazardous items within the stated areas unless prior permission is obtained from the commander of the vital area.
Subparagraph 3 Unless permitted by the government of the Republic of China, no foreign commercial or military vessels are permitted to enter or pass through or dock within the stated areas.
Subparagraph 4 Unless otherwise permitted by the Department of Defense, new construction or modification of railroads, roadways, natural waterways, canals, bridges, dikes, tunnels and temporary bridges within the stated areas is not permitted. Repairs or modifications on any of the above under contract from the Department of Transportation requires the consent of the Department of Defense except for emergency repairs.

Article 7
Prohibited actions and restrictions within a No-Flight Zone and a Restricted Flight Zone are as follows:
1. Unless prior permission is received from the government of the Republic of China, no foreign aircraft is permitted in the No-Flight Zone.
2. Unless prior permission is received from the government of the Republic of China, no domestic aircraft is permitted in the No-Flight Zone.
3. Unless prior permission is received from the government of the Republic of China, no domestic military aircraft is permitted in the No-Flight Zone.
4. Unless prior permission is received from the government of the Republic of China, no foreign aircraft is permitted in the No-Flight Zone, with the exception of hazardous weather conditions or at nighttime. In case of the above exception conditions, foreign aircrafts will be allowed to pass through the stated areas.
5. Unless prior permission is received from the government of the Republic of China, no domestic aircraft is permitted in the No-Flight Zone, with the exception of hazardous weather conditions or at nighttime. In case of the above exception conditions, these domestic aircrafts will be allowed to pass through the stated areas.
6. Unless prior permission is received from the government of the Republic of China, no domestic military aircrafts are permitted in the No-Flight Zone, with the exception of hazardous weather conditions or at nighttime. In case of the above exception conditions, these domestic military aircrafts will be allowed to pass through the stated areas.

Article 7-1
No animals are permitted in military airports. Animals and birds that have already entered a military airport and pose a danger to flight safety will be terminated.
Pigeon breeding and racing is not permitted within an established perimeter surrounding the military airport. Any flying object that may create a hazard to flight safety is also not allowed in the stated area.
The appropriate government agency in charge of military airports is to take precautions to prevent pigeon racing. In addition, other birds and animals will be prevented, by the appropriate government agency, from entering an established perimeter surrounding the airport.
The "established perimeter" as stated above is to be determined and posted by the Department of Defense and other responsible offices.

Article 7-2
Due to the safety concerns, aquatic plant collection, ship docking, hunting, fishing and fish farming is not permitted within any military port and its surrounding restricted areas or any weapons firing range.
Unless permitted by the Department of Defense, any commercial (fishing) vessels or other floating crafts and their personnel as well as any foreign military vessels are prohibited from entering military ports and their surrounding restricted waters.

Chapter  3:Common Prohibited Actions and Restrictions
Article 8
The penalty for violating the above rules, prohibited actions and restrictions regarding new construction, structural modifications or remodeling of houses, warehouses or other structures and material piles, is to have the offending party demolish the structure(s) within a specified time frame. In the case of landscape modifications, the offender is to restore the landscape back to its original form. If the demolition or restoration required by law is not finished within the specified time frame, or inappropriate methodologies were used, the commander of the vital area is authorized to carry out the penalty. If hiring a third party is required to carry out the penalty, any expenses incurred will be passed along to the offending party.

Article 9
Violation of Item number one in Article 4 and Item number one in Article 5, the offender will be sentenced to imprisonment of longer than one year and no more than seven years.
Unintentional violation of the stated regulations will result in a penalty of less than one year imprisonment or community service or a fine of five hundred NT dollars or less.

Article 10
Violation of Item number one of Article 6, or Item number one, two, four and five of Article 7 will result in the penalty of imprisonment of no more than five years.
Unintentional violation of the stated regulations will result in a penalty of imprisonment or community service of no more than ten months or a fine of three NT hundred dollars or less.

Article 11
The penalty for violating Item number three and six of Article 7 will be determined by the Department of Defense.

Article 12
The penalty for violating Item number two, three, four, five and six of Article 4; or Item number two and three of Article 5; or Item number two, three and four of Article 6 is imprisonment or community service of no more than three years, or a fine of no more than one thousand NT dollars.
Unintentional violation of the stated regulations will result in imprisonment or community service of no more than six months or no more than a one hundred NT dollar fine.

Article 13
Violation of Item number one of article 4, Item number one of article 5, or Item number two of Article 6 or Item number one, two, four and five of Article 7 will result in the confiscation of the offender’s equipment, film, written material and aircraft.

Article 14
Destroying or removing any signs in a vital area will result in a penalty of imprisonment or community service of no more than one year or a three hundred NT dollar fine or less
The penalty for the unintentional destruction or removal of any signs in a vital area is to provide restitution.

Article 14-1
Violation of Item number two of Article 7-1 will result in a fine of no less than one hundred thousand NT dollars and no more than five hundred thousand NT dollars. The offender will also be responsible to improve the situation within a specified time frame. If the improvement is not achieved within the specified time frame, the fine will be repeated daily during the duration of the improvement. Any imposed fines are to be paid within a specified time frame. If fines are not paid within the specified time frame, the matter will be referred to law enforcement officials for enforcement.
The owners of any pigeon coops within the specified range surrounding the military airport that were in place prior to the enactment of the above regulations will be mandated by the appropriate government agency and police department to relocate all the pigeon coops to non-restricted areas. The stated agency will be responsible for compensating pigeon coop owners for expenses incurred during the relocation. For those who refuse to comply with the order, the removal of the pigeon coops will be enforced without compensation. Furthermore, the offender will be subject to the penalties stated above.
The compensation program for the stated regulation of pigeon coop removal will be determined by the Department of Defense.

Chapter  4:Addendum
Article 15
The vital area regulations are to be posted at construction sites for military bases and installations before construction begins.

Article 16
The enforcement of regulations regarding prohibited actions and restrictions as stated above may be cancelled, delayed or partially delayed depending on each individual region’s situation. The Department of Defense is responsible for making the decision and posting the regulations results in a public location. If any change should occur in the future, the same procedure is to be followed.

Article 17
In event of a war, the commander of a vital area may order the removal of all structures, material piles and crops if the need should arise.

Article 18
The sclection of military bases and installations in which the stated regulations will apply is to be made by the Department of Defense.

Article 19
The stated regulations will take effect starting the day they are posted.